You Want to Change the World? Here’s a Primer.
Over the past 25 years of being a global social entrepreneur and teaching courses on the topic at Harvard University, I’ve been asked the same question time and again: How do you help change the world for the better?
I wish the answer was simple. There are just too many variables to consider, including the magnitude of the problem you’re trying to solve. But positive change can happen. There are many ways to make the world a better place, whether it’s marginal or wholesale. I find that rather than provide a How-To guide, it’s better to offer a series of questions to contemplate. And, whether you’re a beginner or seasoned change-maker, you’ll benefit from this primer.
The Six Questions Every Social Entrepreneur Must Answer
1. In no more than two sentences, what’s the specific problem you’re trying to tackle?
Here’s the kicker: if it takes more than two sentences, the problem needs to be better defined. And, if you’re a seasoned social entrepreneur, how has the problem you’ve been tackling evolved since you started? What are the nuances that emerged that must now be addressed?
An example problem statement on climate change is, “Climate change is having a negative impact on the ocean ecosystem.” Indeed, it is, but the problem is too big to tackle. A more specific aspect of the problem can be, “Coral reefs in the Micronesian island chain are dying due to increased greenhouse gases from human activity.” And you can drill the problem even further to be more specific. By better defining the problem, you’ll gain better traction to resolving it.
2. What’s the root cause of the problem?
In order to understand the genesis of the problem, you’ll need to know the who-what- where-when-how. If human activity is to blame, who was involved and what caused it? Where and when did the problem manifest? Finally, how has the problem persisted for this long? Sometimes, there is no single cause to a societal problem, but conducting research on the history of the problem is critical to being able to properly tackle it.
Take homelessness, for example. Being homeless is an outcome of a series of deeply entrenched root causes, including socio-economic, racial, psychological, and medical constraints. Providing affordable housing has become a worthwhile approach in the U.S., but it still does not address the many needs of this vulnerable population. Drilling down on each of the root causes gives us a better picture of the types of support structures that are better suited for each homeless sub population.
3. What are barriers to entry?
There are bound to be challenges right at the beginning of your journey. Some small and some big. Will you need funding, a team, political allies, or all of the above? It is also important to know that others may benefit from the problem existing (e.g. corruption, power, cost-benefit analysis, etc.). Because one person’s problem, may be another person’s gain. (Think about who really benefits during warfare.).
Let’s take the environmental issue from Question 1 above: Say a small Pacific Island nation’s economy relies on the tourism dollars from scuba divers visiting their unique coral reef ecosystem. But, the health of coral reefs have been declining for the past decade. Conservation efforts that require a halt to tourism may not be in the short-term best interest for the island nation. A solution to one problem may create an even bigger problem; that’s a simple supply-and-demand issue. Determining what the government sees for its nation’s long-term prosperity, is the first step.
4. What are your KPIs?
The adage, you are what you measure, is especially true in social entrepreneurship. You measure success using Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. KPIs are the data you collect in response to your desired goals and can be both qualitative and quantitative. They must be collected regularly and used to tell the story of how well your enterprise is doing over a period of time.
For instance, let’s say you are developing a microfinance program in Central America for indigenous women to be self-sufficient. KPIs can include: the amount of micro loans being provided; the number of women served each quarter; the loan pay-back rate; how the loans are used for in supporting micro-enterprises; how lives have changed over time; and so forth. KPIs must be agreed upon from the onset and part of regular, on-going conversations with your team, stakeholders and population being served.
5. Can it be solved in your lifetime?
Sadly, most of the world’s most pressing problems can take several lifetimes. But, don’t be disheartened. Because without the passion and skills to want to tackle them, we wouldn’t be making progress! It is important to determine a realistic — not hopeful — timeline. That is, we wish the problems we’re addressing can be resolved quickly and efficiently, but that’s not realistic.
Take the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Their mission statement is, “We are a nonprofit fighting poverty, disease and inequality around the world.” That’s bold and certainly needed. It would take a lifetime to try to address just one of those issues, but they want to address all three. How does one fight inequality and how long will it take? The goal here isn’t elimination, but rather to lessen it. Using KPIs will help set smaller, more manageable goals, while making progress.
6. What are the long-term consequences?
Believe it or not, even good intentions have negative consequences. Whether you start your own social enterprise, work for on, or you are a volunteer, there are bound to be hidden and seen consequences when the work is not fully realized, or you exit.
For instance, wanting to help a community of fishermen in Central America start an export industry seems worthwhile. These fishermen would have more income to support their families. The idea alone provides hope for the workers. But, there will need to be continuous economic training, funding and long-term local champions who must ensure the success of the program. If any of the key variables is sustained, then the project can fail, and there goes all hope. So, are the fishermen better or worse off than before?
The six-question primer is meant to spark the imagination and ground it in reality. In fact, I wish I knew to ask myself these questions early on in my social entrepreneurial career. I was a 16-year-old activist in my community who wanted to resolve the homeless crisis among children and worked non-stop to try to lessen the problem. Decades later, I’m still working on the issue with a sense of urgency, but with an educated approach to the myriad and extensive root causes. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned change-maker, my hats off to you for wanting to make the world a better place. We need you.
About the Author
Tai Esteban Sunnanon has spent 25+ years as a global social entrepreneur, having founded 6 enterprises aimed at solving some of the most pressing problems around the world. He taught graduate courses on the topic at Harvard University. He’s mentored and supported over 300 social entrepreneurs around the world and has been to over 50 countries. He speaks 7 languages and currently resides in California, where he serves as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, while working on a book on social entrepreneurship.
